WA Sports Star Finalists: Pole vaulter Kurtis Marschall adopts fearless mindset in quest to clear new heights

He may already be among the world’s best in his discipline, but pole vaulter Kurtis Marschall believes continuing to channel a “fearless” mindset is the key in his quest to clear new heights. The SportWest 2025 WA Sport Star Award nominee matched his career best mark of 5.95m to claim the second World Athletics Championships bronze medal of his career under the intense spotlight of June’s final in Tokyo. He was also a consistent performer at the Diamond League, notching four top-three finishes across the seven events he jumped at while not dropping any lower than sixth. Marschall told The West Australian he prided himself on being at his best when the stakes were at their highest. “If you’re going out there with some of the best guys in the world and battling it out, it basically comes down to the guy who’s willing to put it all on the line and be fearless and be vulnerable and take those risks and try and jump as high as you can when it counts,” Marschall said. “Sometimes the stars have to align and sometimes you have to have a bit of luck on your side, but I think my prep was pretty perfect and it just gave me confidence. “I managed to pull it all together (in 2025). Credit to my amazing team in WA and my previous coach Paul Burgess — he was the mastermind behind making sure I was injury-free this year. That’s pretty much the whole battle. “I jumped over 5.90m seven times last year, that was just proof that everything was in the tank and I managed to execute it on the day, which was the cherry on the top.” Marschall has earned his first nomination for the award and will be looking to follow in the footsteps of fellow pole vaulter and 2024 winner Nina Kennedy. The Adelaide-born star said he was “definitely a WA boy through and through now”. “I’m just stoked that all my work behind the scenes is finally being recognised,” he said. “To be nominated amongst that crew of people is pretty epic,” he said.